CARY, N.C. - After two days of competition, and 14 games played, only two teams remain in contention for the 2019 13U NTIS Champions Cup gold medal. Both the South Stars and Southwest Stars proved to the rest of the competition that they belong in the championship game with statement wins, as they both recorded a combined team one-hitter against their opponents in the semifinals. 
The Southwest Stars faced off against the Northwest Stripes in the first semifinal game of the day. They held on to their no hitter through 6.1 innings and were clicking on offense as well, putting up nine runs against the Northwest Stripes. Brady Strohm, a 12U National Team alum who won gold at the COPABE U-12 Pan-American Championships in 2018, was the starting pitcher in the semifinals for the Southwest Stars and was impressed by his team's effort in the game.
"As a team, we performed well. We hit well, we played amazing defense and our pitchers did an outstanding job," Strohm said.
Effective pitching has been a staple of the Southwest Stars team so far in the tournament, coming off of a four-inning, one-hit performance by Peyton Coria in yesterday's second pool play game. But as Strohm said, they also hit well. So well that Southwest Stars have recorded 14 doubles and four triples through its three games. They hope to keep this momentum heading into the championship game.
"The semifinal game gave us a lot of confidence and we are coming into the championship game with a lot of energy," Strohm said. 
The Southwest Stars coach, Justin Philips, was pleased with his team's play in the semifinals and thought they exhibited a complete game ahead of tomorrow's championship game.
"My team got ahead early and we were pounding the zone. Our pitchers gave their teammates chances to make plays and we capitalized with runners in scoring position," Philips said. 
Despite how dominate they have been, The Southwest Stars may meet their match in the gold medal game at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. The South Stars have two 12U National Team alums who also won a gold medal at the COPABE U-12 Pan-American games 2018. The South Stars' starting pitcher, Tristian Bristow, was electric on the mound for the South Stars in their semifinal game, not allowing a hit through the fir 5.2 innings. Not focusing on his individual performance, Bristow feels that the championship game is a chance to prove that his region will reign supreme at the end of the 13U NTIS Champions Cup.
"It will feel great knowing that we have the best baseball team in the region. It would be great to have some bragging rights and be able to go home and celebrate knowing that we played well," Bristow said. 
Masato Chilcutt is also on the championship-bound South Stars, and along with his teammate Bristow, is a 12U National Team alum. Chilcutt, who was a stalwart behind the plate, also had a successful day offensively with three hits in the semifinal game and credits his team for the victory.
"The team did great, it really was a team effort. Everyone did their part to help win the game. We're going to pick up where we left off and keep this energy for tomorrow's game," Chilcutt said.
The South Stars coach, Alejandro Martinez, was pleased with his squad's semifinal performance, but not surprised.
"I'm very proud of those guys. I know I'm going to see a lot of those guys on television in a few years on national teams and playing professionally. These kids have a lot of skills. A lot of people are going to be surprised, but some of these kids are going to make it. I just feel very proud," Martinez said. 
Proven to be the top two regions from the 13U NTIS Champions Cup, and with both teams having national team experience, this is set up to be a championship game featuring quality baseball from all facets of the game. The gold medal game will be played on Coleman Field at 11:00 am ET on Sunday and streamed live on USABaseball.com and Facebook Live.
Continue to follow @USABaseballNTIS on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the National Team Identification Series.